♪ ♪ first there was mister blues ♪ ♪ then mister dixieland ♪ ♪ then came mister jazz ♪ with his swingin' band ♪ ♪ the music they played ♪ ♪ they felt deep down in their soul ♪ ♪ ♪ but they had to make way for mister rock-and-roll ♪ ♪ he's got 'em rockin' and rollin' ♪ ♪ they start to rockin' and rollin' ♪ ♪ he got 'em rockin' and rollin' ♪ ♪ mister rock-and-roll yeah! ♪

our first act begins in the mid 1950s, a time when the sounds from juke joints made it into jukeboxes, and finally onto our radios. the days of early r&b vocal groups that began to cross over into the culture of the big cities and helped us identify ourselves in the process. [applause] and now... thank you. and now the capitol recording stars, the singing five keys! ♪ ♪ i sa mok em boo di ay ♪ i sa mok em boo ♪ i went to china town ♪ way back in old hong kong ♪ took out some egg foo yung ♪ and then i heard a gong ♪ ling, ting, tong, tried to sing that song called ♪ ♪ i sa mok em boo di ay, i sa mok em boo ♪ we were the first rock-and-roll generation.

before us, the kids had to listen to what their parents listened to, the big band. nothing wrong with the big band, but it's the first time the kid had his own music. ♪ and as i looked around ♪ the lights were going down ♪ and this is what i found ♪ a ling, ting, tong, tried to sing that song ♪ ♪ called i so mok em boo di ay, i so mok em boo ♪ bobby jay: there was a new market coming along that no one yet identified or targeted, the teenager. they were always there. in the '40s with sinatra they were called bobbysoxers. they didn't want to hear the music of their parents. they wanted something different, they wanted something daring, they wanted something risque. they found it usually at the top of their radio dials on the a.m. band with black stations that existed there. ♪ you kw, the landlord rang ♪ my front doorbell ♪ i let it ring ♪ for a long, long spell

♪ i went to the window, i peeped through the blind ♪ ♪ and asked him to tell me what was on his mind ♪ ♪ he said, money, honey ♪ woo! money, honey ♪ money, honey ♪ money, honey ♪ if you want to get along with me ♪ ♪ i was clean as a sheen and so hard-pressed ♪ ♪ i saw the woman that i love best ♪ ♪ i finally got my baby about a half past three ♪ ♪ said i'd like to know what you want with me ♪ ♪ she said money, honey ♪ mm-hmm, money, honey ♪ money, honey ♪ if you want to get along with me ♪ ♪ she screamed and said what's wrong with you? ♪ ♪ from this day on our romance is through ♪

♪ i said tell me, baby, face to face ♪ ♪ how could another man take my place? ♪ ♪ she said money, honey ♪ mm-hmm, money, honey ♪ woo! money, honey ♪ if you want to get along with me ♪ ♪ ♪ now i've learned my lesson and now i know ♪ ♪ the sun may shine and the winds may blow ♪

♪ the women may come and the women may go ♪ ♪ but you know i said i love 'em so ♪ ♪ i need money, honey ♪ mm-hmm, money, honey ♪ money, honey ♪ if you want to get along with me ♪ ♪ if you want to get along ♪ oh, make some money ♪ if you want to get along ♪ i ain't jivin' you honey ♪ if you want to get along ♪ you gotta give up some money ♪ if you want to get along with me ♪ ♪ aaron neville: the clovers was one of my favorite groups, and anything they sang, my brother was a doo-wopper, he'd bring the records home from the record store, and the clovers was on the box. ♪ ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

♪ doo-doo-doo-doo ♪ devil or angel ♪ i can't make up my mind ♪ doo-doo-doo-doo ♪ which one you are ♪ i'd like to wake up and find ♪ devil or angel ♪ dear, whichever you are ♪ i miss you ♪ i miss you ♪ i-i mi-i-ss you ♪ doo-doo-doo-doo ♪ devil or angel ♪ please say you'll be mine ♪ love me or leave me ♪ yes, i'll go out of my mind ♪ devil or angel ♪ dear, whichever you are

♪ i love you, i love you ♪ i-i love you ♪ ♪ doo-doo-doo doo-doo ♪ devil or angel ♪ please say you'll be mine ♪ doo-doo-doo-doo ♪ love me or leave me ♪ yes, i've made up my mind ♪ devil or angel ♪ dear, whichever you are ♪ i ♪ love you

♪ i ♪ love you ♪ i ♪ love you ♪ neville: my brher art had a doo wop group. i guess i was about nine years old or something like that, and they would sit out on the park bench in the calliope project in new orleans and sing harmony all night, and i used to run up and try to sing with them, they'd run me away. "get away from here, kid," you know. till they figured i could hold a note, then they let me sing with them, and it was like, the songs were like magic to me, you know. it was soothing. and matter of fact, just about everything i've done over the years had some taste of doo wop in it. ♪ are the stars out tonight? ♪

♪ i don't know if it's cloudy or bright ♪ ♪ i only have eyes ♪ for you and i think it was music that was very relatable to the teenager listening to it. it spoke about love-- we were all in love, whether it was real or not. we thought we were. and these songs, if you were in love with a girl, the song was for you. if you broke up with a girl, it was for you if it was a sad song, you know, your girl left you and this and that. it was your song. they just sang to you. ♪ and i only have eyes ♪ for you

♪ i was dancing at andrea's pizza parlor in brighton beach, brooklyn, with my girlfriend carole king, and on the jukebox was earth angel by the penguins. ♪ earth angel, earth angel ♪ will you be mine? ♪ my darling dear ♪ love you all the time ♪ i'm just a fool ♪ a fool in love with you and i heard rock-and-roll doo wop for the first time and flipped. that's a good memory for me. ♪ ♪ walkin' along

♪ my merry way ♪ singin' a song ♪ i will be gay ♪ i found a love ♪ and love is here to stay ♪ whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa ♪ ♪ walking along ♪ just feeling glad ♪ singin' a song ♪ i won't be sad ♪ oh, happy day ♪ i'm just walkin' along ♪ when i'm walkin' ♪ feel just like a king ♪ when i'm singin' ♪ don't care 'bout a thing ♪ the reason i feel ♪ the way i do ♪ you love me and i love you ♪ walkin' along ♪ my merry way ♪ singin' a song ♪ i will be gay ♪ oh, happy day

♪ i'm just walkin' along ♪ ♪ walkin' along ♪ my merry way ♪ singin' a song ♪ i will be gay ♪ oh, happy day ♪ i'm just walkin' along ♪ ♪ walkin' along ♪ my merry way ♪ singin' a song ♪ i will be gay ♪ oh, happy day ♪ i'm just walkin' along ♪ whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa ♪

♪ whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa ♪ ♪ whoa whoa, step! ♪ ♪ whoa whoa whoa, whoa whoa whoa ♪ ♪ ooh whoa, whoa whoa whoa... ♪ ♪ it was the birth, a new beginning, and the very dawn of rock-and-roll. great vocal groups were being born every day. they connected with our souls, they made us dance, and they could also croon a love song like no others we had heard or felt before. go, go, go, man ♪ gloria

♪ gloria ♪ yo, oh, oh ♪ oooh ♪ it's not marie you're killing me, son, you're killing me. one of the prettiest tunes we ever recorded, if not the most popular, and it was recorded by every group on the east coast. everybody did a cover on this ditty. but we're very proud to say we're the first one that put it on the doo wop map, that's right. yes, we did. ♪ gloria ♪ gloria ♪ do do do ♪ it's not marie ♪ gloria ♪ it's not sherie ♪ gloria

♪ she's not in love with me ♪ can't you see ♪ it's not marie? ♪ gloria ♪ it's not sherie ♪ gloria ♪ but she's not in love with me ♪ ♪ bom bom bom bom ♪ ooh ♪ gloria ♪ hum ♪ i think there's an importance to this music.

i call this music either classic rock-and-roll or classic rhythm and blues or original american rock-and-roll. one or the other. and i say that because people seem to be astounded that this music is around 40 years later, but they're not astounded that ragtime jazz is around 80 years later or that classical music is around 200 years later. it is, to me, trying to shake off the shackles of this music being called a novelty. this is not a novelty. this is a part of the american experience. ken held: living in brooklyn in one of those row houses, on the second floor in my bedroom, i had bought this record can't we be sweethearts, and i remember just putting my little victrola up on the windowsill, cranking open the window, and putting the little speaker, the one little speaker, up against the screen, and saying to everybody out in the street who was playing punch ball and stickball and johnny on a pony and ring-a-levio, all the things they played in new york city, listen to this. ♪ dedeliddle liddle...

♪ yeah ♪ dedeliddle liddle ♪ yeah ♪ dedeliddle liddle dedeliddle liddle ♪ ♪ liddle liddle liddle ♪ oh, little girl of mine ♪ gee, you sure look fine ♪ yes, you appeal to me ♪ i'll never set you free ♪ be my loving baby ♪ till the end of time ♪ i can't seem to get you ♪ off my mind ♪ the boys all roll their eyes ♪ as we go strolling by ♪ it's not so hard to see ♪ that they all envy me

♪ 'cause your mine, loving baby ♪ ♪ you belong to me ♪ that's the way it was ♪ meant to be ♪ well ♪ my baby ♪ oh, honey ♪ dedeliddle liddle liddle liddle ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ i think the marketplace is always moving because that's kind of the american way, you know. we have a tendency to discard those kinds of things that have gone past their useful life. ♪ doo mop ta doo mop ta doo mop duh duh ♪ ♪ ooh waa ooh waa ♪ ooh ooh wa ooh wa ♪ ooh ooh wa ooh wa ♪ why do fools fall in love? good music never goes past its useful life.

good music is always part of the fabric of people's lives. george clinton: in 1956, probably, frankie lymon... frankie lymon hit the scene with the teenagers, why do fools fall in love? i, myself, like all teenagers around that age, around that time, wanted to be in a group. so i started parliament... in grade school. there was a doo wop group on every corner in new jersey, new york, philly... probably chicago and los angeles, too. but in '56, frankie lymon started me. brucie morrow: always amazed me, 13-year-old boy, and is obviously a 13-year-old boy, asking the age-old question,

hey, hey, guys and gals, tell me, tell me with your heart, why do fools fall in love? can you imagine that? 13-year-old asking that question? i still can't figure it out. ♪ doo mop doo mop doo mop duh duh ♪ ♪ ooh waa ooh waa ♪ ooh ooh wa ooh wa ♪ ooh ooh wa ooh wa ♪ why do fools fall in love? ♪ why do birds sing so gay? ♪ and lovers await the break of day ♪ ♪ why do they fall in love? ♪ oh, why does the rain fall from up above? ♪ ♪ why do fools fall in love? ♪ why do they fall in love? ♪ why does my heart skip this crazy beat? ♪ ♪ for i know ♪ it will reach defeat ♪ tell me why

♪ tell me why ♪ why do fools fall in love? ♪ [applause] what you got to understand, before frankie lymon, there were many other teenage groups, but frankie lymon was the first to hit the national scene and do national tv shows-- steve allen, ed sullivan. and because of the association with alan freed and george goldner, gone, end, and gee, alan was also producing movies with jack cook, so frankie was the first guy, as a teenage group, to hit it really national. well, goody goody was a great song, i mean it just was up tempo, it was showing off frankie lymon's talents. this man was... i kind of call him the michael jackson of his day. and talking to herb cox of the cleftones,

he told me frankie could play every instrument, he was so talented, it was amazing. people wanted him to stay young forever. ♪ ♪ so you met someone who set you back on your heels ♪ ♪ goody, goody ♪ you met someone and now you know how it feels ♪ ♪ goody, goody ♪ so you gave him your heart too ♪ ♪ just as i gave mine to you ♪ and he broke it in little pieces ♪ ♪ now how do you do ♪ so you lie awake just singing the blues all night ♪ ♪ goody, goody ♪ so you think that love's a barrel of dynamite ♪ ♪ hooray and hallelujah ♪ you had it coming to ya ♪ goody, goody for him ♪ goody, goody for me ♪ i hope you're satisfied, you rascal you ♪ ♪ ♪ so you lie awake just singing the blues all night ♪

♪ goody, goody ♪ so you think that love's a barrel of dynamite ♪ ♪ hooray and hallelujah ♪ you had it coming to ya ♪ goody, goody for him ♪ goody, goody, goody for me ♪ your love has been denied, baby ♪ ♪ you been taken for a ride ♪ i hope you're satisfied, you rascal you ♪ ♪ hey coming up in part two, more golden goodies from life in the mid and late '50s with heavenly harmonies of leading r&b legends and the cultural shift that brought doo-wop pop into the mainstream. now show your support for all the great doo-wop memories this station has brought you through the years. only pbs has undertaken the effort to record, archive, preserve, and present this genre of music for you and your community. so please call in now with any pledge you can afford.

hi there, i'm denise richardson. you have to say it-- this is a metaphor for our lives growing up. and this is the executive producer, tj lubinsky, who we all know and love. thank you. a different take on music. tj: well, you know, denise, what we wanted to do this time with this show was tell the stories of the groups and the songs. first of all, to see the teenagers with the ts on their sweaters and the great story we hear of brucie asking the question, "why do fools fall in love?" you're 14 years old! why do you want to know why fools fall in love? denise: and then you sing it with such passion, too. tj: terrific, seeing those moments-- cleftones, and of course, speedo and the cadillacs. denise: and, for me, it was so nostalgic, i began to tear up, and i teared up because we've lost some of the people along the way. and in addition to that, the music was so ingrained in my life and in yours, the lyrics were so ingrained in our lives. tj: and what we've got here is something really spectacular. we've put together an 8 dvd set. this is the complete my music doo-wop everything, we're calling it doo-wop everything.

every kind of anything we've ever done with doo-wop we've finally put together. it's a limited collection. 8 dvds available only when you make your pledge of support right now, $150. or we've got a great collection, our doo-wop romance collection, original hits by the original artists that of course features a lot of the great songs in here as well. put them together, $250. it's a doo-wop-palooza for you. and ultimately what it is is a chance to be able to take this, share this, show this to those in your family, show this to your children, show this to your grandchildren and say, "you want to know the secret of life, of what i've learned all throughout these years and the music that i grew up listening to and what it meant to us?" right here. it's all about great vocal group harmony. denise: all you have to do is pick up the phone and say yes to my music. tj: incredible and unprecedented. finally the my music doo-wop library, all in one place. yours now in this limited edition pbs package. call with your $150 pledge right now, and all the top doo-wop classics in our vaults will be in yours.

♪ your precious love ♪ means more to me ♪ ooh ♪ than any love could ever be ♪ ♪ why, why, why ♪ whoa, oh, oh ♪ there is a song we had ♪ oh, oh, ow ♪ that i can still... tj: my music has been recording vocal group classics for years. $150, 8 dvds. you'll receive extended full performances from tonight's special. ♪ come back my love, don't run away ♪ ♪ come back my love, oh, come back to stay ♪ ♪ i love you so, i want you to know ♪ ♪ i need your love so badly ♪ bom, bom, bom ♪ beep, ding dong, ah ooh

join us now at the $150 level, and the all-new ultimate doo-wop 8 dvd package is yours. you'll receive extended full performances from tonight's special, "doo-wop discoveries," "doo-wop love songs," "rock pop and doo-wop," and two additional dvds with rare, hard-to-get, and never-before-released doo-wop performances from the my music archives, classic archival tv performances, and extended interviews with the artists that made the music. or at the $150 level, you can choose the doo-wop romance cd collection of original hits. ♪ money honey ♪ yes, money honey ♪ mm-hmmm, money honey ♪ adorable, dorable, dorable, dorable baby ♪ ♪ you're adorable ♪ devil or angel ♪ dear, whichever you are ♪ i love you, i love you ♪ she looked at my palm and she made a magic sign ♪

♪ she said what you need is ♪ love potion number nine the doo-wop romance collection, $150, or the 3 dvd set, $150. your choice by calling the number on the screen right now. at the $250 level, we'll send you the doo-wop romance collection and all 8 dvds from this special pbs broadcast. don't wait. pick up your phone and support the station right now. hi. this is little anthony of little anthony and the imperials, and i want to say that pbs has always been a preserver of great music, all kinds, especially the music that the imperials and i presented in this business. and i really encourage you all to support pbs because that's the only way our music will be heard on a regular basis. so i want to thank you fans out there for doing that, listening, looking. the greatest thing that ever happened, as far as i'm concerned, is pbs and my involvement with pbs. okay, now let's turn it over to tj lubinsky.

now, what you're seeing here is just a short sampling of all the doo-wop footage we have in our my music library. we finally put it all together. every great doo-wop song that we could find that we've recorded in the my music series here on pbs, put them all together so when you talk about groups that we've seen, like the clovers-- how about "love potion number 9"? "had so much fun, i'm going back again. i wonder what would happen with love potion number 10." another one of those bonus songs from this past segment that you just saw. excellent, excellent sounds from bill pinkney's drifters. we saw "money honey," alright, but what about "drip drop"? what about "fools fall in love"? we've got that in this dvd package for you as well. "earth angel" with the penguins, the full version, not just the short versions. what we presented on television tonight are these short clips. we've actually got the full unabridged versions. $150, you can choose that, plus an additional bonus dvd of archival classics that you'll find nowhere else except for right here on public television, and the rarities--